GW Women's Hoops Edged at UMass, 56-53

Tara Booker Records Double-Double with 20 Points, 10 Rebounds

AMHERST, Mass. - Senior Tara Booker matched her season-high with 20 points and added 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, but the George Washington women's basketball team was edged by Atlantic 10 Conference rival Massachusetts by a score of 56-53 Sunday afternoon at the Mullins Center.

The game saw six ties and 16 lead changes, as neither team led by more than five points for the first 15 minutes before a 14-3 run by the Minutewomen gave them a game-high 11-point advantage with 40 seconds remaining in the first half. The Colonials (11-15, 4-8 A-10) scored the final three points of the period, but trailed, 35-27, at the break.

With GW trailing by seven with 15:53 to play, senior Tiana Myers sparked an 11-2 spurt with six points to give the Colonials a 44-42 lead, their first since the 7:54 mark of the first half. Myers would go on to score 10 of GW's 15 points over a six-minute stretch.

The teams traded field goals for four minutes before UMass guards Megan Zullo and Emily Mital hit back-to-back baskets to put the hosts up by three, 54-51, with 4:09 remaining. The Colonials missed four straight shots over the next three minutes before junior Brooke Wilson drained a long jumper near the end of the shot clock to pull GW within one with 1:16 to play.

But the Colonials did not get the ball back for more than a minute, and after a layup by UMass center Jasmine Watson with 19 seconds left, GW was unable to convert on its final attempt.

Booker's game-high 20 points came on 8-of-14 shooting, and she added three steals. Myers finished with 13 points and a season-high eight rebounds, while freshman Chakecia Miller tallied seven points, five steals and three assists.

Zullo led the Minutewomen (7-20, 2-10 A-10) with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and she added five assists and four steals, while Watson recorded 13 points, seven rebounds and five helpers.

The Colonials return to action on Wednesday, when they host A-10 rival La Salle at 7 p.m. in their home finale at the Charles E. Smith Center. Prior to the game, Myers and senior Kristin Aldridge will be honored in a Senior Day ceremony.